Making Love Out of Nothing At All
by empressflorence
Summary: A continuation after Season 2, all characters included. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Fugue State

Lexie ran her hands through her hair in Sam's bathroom, feeling faint not for the first time since she had awoken to Tess's call. By God, she'd said she wouldn't do this. She'd said no-this time no damaged, tender women she would tiptoe around for months, kissing their fingertips and calling them baby until, nursed back to health, they'd flee into the arms of someone ready to let them out of training wheels. Fuck's sake, Lexie!

"Lex?" Sam's voice came from the other side of the door, accompanied by two polite knocks. "You alright in there?"

Fuck. "Uh, yeah. I'm alright." Lexie opened the door and was immediately engulfed in Sam's arms. God, her arms. Soft, but firm muscle. Taut. Arms you could melt in. And damned if that isn't just what she did. Sam kissed her, long and slow, gently pushing her tongue in between her teeth and Lexie moaned, wrapping her arms around her neck. When they parted, she found herself breathless.

"Listen, I've got to go into work."

"Oh, right, yeah. 'Course. Duty c-duty calls..."

Sam cocked her head to the side. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Satisfied for the moment, Sam smiled. "There's coffee. Stay as long as you like."

"Thanks." Sam kissed her again, more gently this time, and then let her go.

"No, I uh...I really needed someone last night. I should be thanking you." With Sam's arms safely by her side, Lexie regained some of her wit. "Well, you can thank me with a call later."

The pair of them were at their favorite cafe, Mulligans, the morning after opening night. The place was rather empty for a Sunday morning and the three wooden tables next to them were all vacant. They ordered two coffees and a grotesquely large croissant that now sat between them in all its golden, almondy glory. Ed was just reaching out for a bite when Tess wondered aloud once again why Lexie hadn't come back to the flat last night.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, Tess," Ed groaned and poured another cream into his own coffee before taking a sip. "You've seen all those American doctor dramas. They stay over at the hospital all the bloody time."

"What, you mean like Grey's Anatomy? Cuz that's not helping, Ed!"

"Listen, look at the facts, is all I'm saying. You kissed her and she didn't _hate_ it, she said she might be interested in someone who didn't need a ticket to opening night, _and_ she loved your performance. Everyone did. Despite my rippin' ex's foul play. Why, I should-"

"'Scuse me, Ed, it's me having the crisis right now! What if-What if she got back with Bea, and she texted her and apologized for the whole stalker husband thing and-Oh I made such a tit of myself."

"Look. I bet she's just dying to see you again, and the rest of the play. Wait a couple of hours and call her. Invite her to see the second half. I'm sure she'll say yes."

"What, a couple of shags with my costar and now you're the expert on women, eh Ed?"

"Can we please not bloody talk about that cun-"

"Anything else for you two?" the elderly waitress asked, looking directly at Ed. Tess snorted into her coffee as Ed waved her off.

"Still can't believe you went there."

"Well that makes two of us doesn't it? Guess I just got caught up..." _In trying to forget you, _he finished for himself. Oh, sure, he'd gotten used to playing the devoted friend again. It was surprisingly easy to fall back into the old role of it. Didn't mean it didn't sting, though.

"Speaking of getting caught up, how's the book stuff going? Haven't you got another signing? At some comic convention or other?"

"_Or other_? Tess, it's the biggest convention of the year! Flippin' Haruki Murakami's going to be there! And Jensen Ackles even might make an appearance!"

"Alright, alright," Tess laughed. "It's a bigger deal than I thought. Makes my point even better though, doesn't it?"

"Oh, good, there's a point."

"The _ladies_, my fine novelist friend. You're bound to find one that's nutso about your book. Take _her_ for a spin on your spaceship, or whatever it is you people call your-" She glanced up at their waitress who was pouring coffee two tables off for a man in a fashionable grey suit. "Your _woohoos_ these days."

"Spaceships? Really, Tess? Really?"

She shrugged and helped herself to her half of the croissant. They breakfasted in silence for a while, looking, Ed noticed, for all the world like a couple spending a relaxing Sunday morning together. Dare to dream, and all that.

"You know, she'd be proud of you," Tess said suddenly.

"What?"

"Cat. Really proud." She reached out and grabbed his hand, and when she squeezed, he squeezed back.

They were in bed again, Sadie and Lauren. Touching, feeling, exploring. Sadie, for her part, was trying her best to memorize the contours of her spine, the little white hillocks, the darker valleys. By God, her fingers could spend their days charting that land. Lauren reached under her skirt, and Sadie's head threw itself back- "Lauren, oh..."

"The fuck?" The hand between her legs withdrew.

"I-what?" Not Lauren. Janice. Fuck.

"Don't tell me you've gone and fallen for someone while I was havin' my little vacation?"

"Shut up." Sadie sat up and felt around the mess of sheets for her top.

"Don't get all in a tiff, was only a question." Always the classiest, J wiped her hand on the sheets. "So who is she?"

"She's no one."

"Yeah, callin' out her name while I'm fuckin' you, that sounds like no one. What's next, crying in your sleep?"

"I said shut up. Pass me the stuff."

J smiled. "I was craving a little pick me up." She spread the lines, and they went high. They fucked again after. Nobody called anyone's name. Except the neighbors, but J was quite used to that anyway.

When Sam had left the house at a quarter to eleven, she'd had every intention of going to the hospital. Every intention. At least that's what she told herself an hour later in the empty police offices drinking Glenlivet Whiskey straight from the bottle and trying to convince herself it was acceptable behavior for one pm on a Sunday. She couldn't face him. That was the bottom of it. She just couldn't face her partner after what had happened. _She_ had put him in the hospital as surely as if it were her who'd raised her fists against him. Her fault. She'd had another one of her attacks and she hadn't been able to lift a finger to help him. Couldn't even call out his name, send someone else. Of course, the attacks had started after Cat had died, but she could hardly pin it on that. No, the only one Sam had to blame this time was Sam. She swished around the contents of the bottle and took another swig, savoring the burn of the liquid as it travelled down her throat.

And then there was Lexie, whom she'd practically left in her bed this morning in her haste to get the fuck out of there.

In her haste not to avoid the hangover of sleeping with someone just to get out of your own head for a few hours.

But was that all?

Sighing, she put her head in her hands. _I don't need this shit right now._

What she did need was another shot. And another. And another.

When she stumbled home around four pm, Lexie wasn't there. And thank God for that.

"You're not bloody serious?" Decklin said after nearly choking on his egg salad sandwich. She didn't understand how he could stand the stuff-it looked, and probably tasted, quite a bit like sperm. But maybe that was part of the attraction.

"I thought you were going for Tess!"

"Me too. I don't know. It just sort of happened. One moment I was just being a friend and then..."

"And then your fingers were up her twat."

"Hey, watch it," she warned, a bit more harshly than she had meant to. But sometimes, Decklin just went too damn far.

"Alright, okay, I'm sorry. Don't get your knickers all in a bunch."

They fell silent, finishing up their lunches quietly until, "Gee, Decklin. I'm sorry I'm so absorbed in my own lesbian drama that I didn't think to ask you how your date went with Mr. Radiology," he said.

"Shit, I'm sorry. Really. How did it go?"

"Not bad," he answered, wiping his mouth.

"But..."

"Well...but...well we didn't sleep together," he finished quickly. "Even came up for drinks and everything but then he just said he'd better be getting home."

Lexie chuckled wryly. "Trust me, in my recent experience, taking sex out of the picture isn't all that bad of an idea."

"Maybe you're right..."

Just then, Lexie's buzzer went off. Her eyes widened.

"What?" Decklin asked.

"It's Bea. She wants to meet me at the lockers, says it's important."

"Woah. Are you gonna go?"

Lex snorted. "As if. We obviously have a pretty different idea of what's important, haven't we?"

Decklin pulled a face, one that was all too familiar to Lexie. She rolled her eyes. "Alright, out with it. I know you've got something to say, so just say it."

"Might not be my place..."

"Oh, it's never your place, but that hasn't stopped you before, has it?"

"Well...I think maybe you're thinking about this all the wrong way."

Taken aback, Lexie asked how.

"She wouldn't be the first gay person in a straight marriage, is all I'm saying."

"Yeah, maybe...But she that still didn't give her the right to lie to me. I thought we were friends!"

"No arguments there, honey, she shouldn't have lied. But I stand by what I said before: I don't think the arrangement you had was exactly what you thought it was."

"So, what?" Lexie said, laughing. "She's in love with me? I'm not touching a situation like that with a ten foot pole, thank you, even if Sam _was_ out of the picture."

"And Tess. You're quite popular, you are."

Lexie's gaze hardened, and she picked up her tray to leave. Decklin, for once, did not follow suit.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Change of Heart

Tess had secured two extra tickets for the second night-one she gave to Lexie, who thanked her quickly and disappeared even quicker behind her door, and the other she offered to Sam over the phone. But Sam had apparently caught some bug or other and was unable to attend-Tess noted that she _did_ sound strange over the phone, and made a mental note to check up on her later. So, instead, she pushed the ticket onto Ed who finally caved in the spirit of moral support, and the two of them rushed off to the theatre.

Under the shadow of the red awning, Hugh waited for Tess, smoking a cigarette and drumming his fingers on his corduroy pants. She didn't know he smoked. Anyway, Tess took a deep breath, steeled herself against him by grabbing Ed's hand, and hurried past Hugh-or she tried to hurry past him, rather. His hand caught her sleeve just before the two of them reached the door.

"I'm sorry," Hugh said, his voice filled with desperation and self-pity, but Tess felt a flash of anger in response. He was sorry. He was _sorry?!_

"Sorry for what?" she snapped, tugging her sleeve away. "Uh, I'll just-" Ed disappeared into the sanctuary of the lobby. "For making me have a run-in with the police or making me miss possibly the one chance I had with Lexie?"

"For both..."

Tess scoffed and turned again, but he caught her elbow this time. "Just hear me out! Please! I know I made a right tosser of myself, and I deserved that, but I'm done with Maggie, ok? Really this time. No more calls, flowers, champagne...no more waiting. I promise."

Sighing, his friend turned back towards him. "No more trying to get Ronald-" his dog, "back either?"

Now it was his turn to sigh. "No more trying to get Ronald back either."

Tess smiled, but then faltered. "But I don't understand. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Taking her hand, Hugh answered, "Because I'd rather have a friend who loves me than a wife who doesn't."

That was the last straw for Tess, and she threw her arms about his neck in a tight hug. "Aw, Hugh."

"Now," he said when they parted, "Let's go give those folks a show."

And with no tricks from Nora, that's exactly what they did. It went even better than the night before, which is something of a miracle in the business. And best of all, Lexie was there to greet her when the actors came out for signatures and drinks. Ed, no fool, took drink orders, and disappeared with Hugh into the throng.

"Oh my goodness, you were fabulous!" Lexie exclaimed, hugging Tess tightly for far too short a time. "Really, I'm sorry I missed it yesterday."

"Well, you're here now. That's what count. Uh, so..." Tess wrestled her voice into some semblance of insouciance. "What was it at work yesterday? I mean, it must have been something big, I didn't hear you come in last night."

Lexie blinked. Then, "Oh! Oh, yeah. It was, really big...Some poor kid swallowed some Drain-O."

"Oh my God! Is he ok?" Tess asked, relieved.

"Uh yeah. Yeah he'll be fine. Long road to recovery for him, though." Just then, Ed returned with drinks, having left Hugh in conference with two busty looking females who'd apparently pregamed the show. Good for him. Ed handed Lexie and Tess their champagne glasses.

"To Tess," Ed toasted, "Whom we'll soon be seeing on billboards!"

"To Tess," Lexie echoed, thinking if some kid really did come in having swallowed Drain-O, she'd throw herself off the hospital roof.

It had been a long time since Sadie had gone on a bender. A very long time indeed. Damn, she'd needed this. To feel the separation between herself and reality, to float high above all the stinking bullshit of her life for a few minutes, then hours, then days. Three, to be exact, and not one minute of it did she spend sober. Janice made quite sure of that. It was like back in the old days, being with Janice. Just getting by on drugs and convenience store fodder. Fucking away any responsibilities they had to themselves, to each other. Tying their tongues together to keep the words from coming out. Drinking bottle out after bottle to keep the world from coming in. Back then Janice had a physically abusive boyfriend, Sadie emotionally abusive parents. They found comfort in drugs, and in each other. Now wasn't so different.

_ Fuck Lauren, then._ Just another upperclass prick who got their jollies slumming it with the rest of them for a few days before, spent, they pissed off back to their perfect fucking flats and their perfect fucking wives. It wasn't new. Only difference was this time she'd fallen for it-been the tempted instead of the temptress. So now, bleeding and heartbroken, Sadie drifted back. Back to the old her. Back to the Sadie who fancied her heart as black as the hairs on her pretty little head.

That didn't change the fact that she needed a steady job, though. The rent in the flat wasn't cheap, and had gone up after Frankie pissed off to New York. Fucking Frankie. She did another line. Even for her, Sadie's romantic track record wasn't looking too good these days. And now her financial situation was in the toilet, too. After the cheese-serving fiasco, she definitely wasn't in the market for another waitressing job, but she realized that that might be her only option. Back to the drawing board, then.

"Where's the paper?" Sadie called to J, who had excused herself to the bathroom.

"The _paper_?"

Sadie might well have asked the location of Planet X.

"Yes, the paper, the news, the fucking Wanted ads, do you have one or do I need to go out and buy one?"

"'Son the counter in the kitchen. Get me the whiskey while you're in there."

Sadie struggled to her feet and walked to J's sorry excuse for a kitchen. She certainly hoped they hadn't listed the apartment as having a kitchen when J had rented it-it was more like a closet with a stove top. Two people could barely fit in it without rubbing their bums together. But Sadie located both the paper and the whiskey, and some crisps, and carried the lot of it back to the bedroom, not without having to step over clothes and empty carry-out containers. She made a mental note to clean up the place before she went back to her apartment. J didn't take too good care of herself, or her belongings, except for her bong which she lovingly referred to as Toots.

Now...

Sadie flipped open the pages, past the reports of America's financial crisis and the shoot-up that had occurred sometime in the night at a well-known club and to the employment pages. WANTED: Waitress. WANTED: Nanny. Sadie giggled, imagining herself running after a bunch of snot-nosed kids and kept scanning. Most of the jobs required some sort of specialty or tolerance which she did not have. In fact, she had about decided to give the whole thing up and hit the pavement when she spotted one final want ad tucked into the bottom right hand corner. WANTED: Adult novelties salesperson. Requirements included good knowledge of sexual health, flexible hours and comfort discussing "intimate subjects." Sadie's eyebrows rose. Well now. That was something. Best of all, she could take the bus to the location, as it was located not too far from the city center. Sadie, Adult Novelties Saleswoman. She liked.

"J!"

"What? Jesus. Don't talk so loud." Janice had rematerialized in the bedroom and made a beeline for the whiskey bottle.

"Put that down, we're going out."

Raising an eyebrow, J tossed back a shot of it anyway. "Oh yeah? Where to?"

"Glasgow's own Pink Taco."

"What? Not satisfied?" J smirked, knowing she knew Sadie's body like few others did.

"Shut it. I'm trying to work there."

"Sexy. Just let me get my clothes on."

"And don't knick anything while we're there."

J pouted. "You spoil all my fun."

Arnold J. Adams was having a shitty day already, and he did not need this, thank you very much, especially not from some English tosser who insisted on having a flight out _tonight_ for Glasgow.

"All due respect, ma'am, I've already told you, there are simply no flights from your location to Glasgow tonight. Now tomorrow, I can set you up with-"

"I need to leave _tonight_. It's an emergency."

"We can fly you into London at 2:30 AM, and you can get to the airport on time if you hurry-"

"I don't want to go to L-"

"Then I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for you, ma'am."

"Who's your manager? I'd like to speak to your manager."

"Ma'am, the manager has gone home, as will I after I end this call. And even if there _was_ a manager on duty that doesn't change the flight schedule!"

Shit. He'd raised his voice, again. This call was being recorded. But if _your_ boss had been fucking your girlfriend, you'd raise your fucking voice, too-Oh bloody hell, what was she talking about now?

"Sorry, ma'am, can you repeat that?"

"I said book me for the London flight," she said angrily. "How soon can I get a train to Glasgow from the airport?"

"You'll have to call-"

"You're not serious."

"Very serious. Now, you're booked from New York into London at 2:30 AM, I hope your packed, because with international flights-"

The line went dead. Hell, if he didn't get fired tomorrow morning, he was quitting himself.

Arnold J. Adams, after slamming the telephone back onto the receiver, pushed his chair back from the desk, flicked off the janitor who was staring at him from the other side of the office, and stormed out of the double doors, heading back to an empty apartment. Again.

Lexie pulled herself out of the too-hard bed in the on-call room, not hardly ready for her second shift in 24 hours. Wasn't there some kind of law against this? But the shoot-up at Route 45 had everyone pulling doubles. How the fuck had someone gotten their hands on a .45 in Glasgow anyway? Two D.O.A and 14 more suffering from critical gunshot wounds, with at least twice that reporting in with minor injuries. As it was the weekend as well, a good number of doctors had been unable to come in, leaving those already on-call to pull up the slack. Whatever. She needed the over-time for rent. Rent. She sighed. Another thing she had to look into with Tess and Sadie. They needed to find another roommate, and fast. But where to look?

Lexie readjusted her scrubs, checked her appearance in the mirror, and pulled open the door and almost jumped out of her skin.

Bea was standing right outside the door.

"Why've you been avoiding me?" she demanded.

"Hello to you too, and you know exactly why. And fuck, do you mind not being so creepy, cuz it's definitely not helping your case."

"You don't understand-"

"Oh, I understand well enough. You thought you'd have a little fun, get away from your husband, from your _kid-"_

"I'm not in love with Jake."

"Not my problem. And I don't want to-"

"I'm in love with you."

Lexie leaned against the door, trying and failing to keep her face nonchalant. Decklin had been right after all.

"We're-we _were_ friends, Bea. That's all there was to it."

"No, it wasn't! How can you say that? I held your hand after every break up, after every hard day in here."

"That's what friends do. What they _don't _do is fuck you over. Now get out of my way, I've got another shift."

"Please, I've told Jake I want a divorce."

Lex froze. "I really hope you didn't do that for me."

"I love you."

"Yeah, well, I don't love you."

The words were out of her mouth before she had time to soften them, make them hit not so hard on an already beaten woman. Fresh tears sprang to eyes already puffy with them, and sleepless nights.

"I-"

But Bea was already rushing down the hallway. If Lexie had known that was going to be the last time she'd ever see her alive...She wouldn't have headed the other way, towards more stitches and other arms.


End file.
